A couple months ago a reader tipped me to the news* that Reagent Press, a small publisher based in the state of Washington, is "seeking class-action participants in a potentially $1B lawsuit against Amazon". Naturally that piqued my interest, so I sent them an email.

I never got a response to that email, so when I was reminded of that potential Amazon lawsuit this afternoon, I followed up. I snarkily asked whether they usually ignored press queries, and was told this:

Thank you for your inquiry and follow up. I see you have a nicely done blog, but regardless of whether you were an actual accredited member of the press, I'm sure you know we can't comment on ongoing litigation.

Yes, this publisher is looking for other potential litigants, but they won't actually say - even in the most general terms - why they want to sue Amazon (it's a secret).

I'd hazard a guess that this has to do with publishers' dealings with Amazon, but that is just speculation. Does anyone know what's going on?

I'm asking not just for my own interest but also for potential members of the class. Lord knows Amazon has pulled enough crap over the years that they could be sued six ways from Sunday.

If you have any background info you can share either on or off the record, I would love to hear it.

P.S. I'm ashamed to say I can't recall who sent me this tip. Mea culpa.

Nate Hoffelder

Nate Hoffelder is the founder and editor of The Digital Reader: He's here to chew bubble gum and fix broken websites, and he is all out of bubble gum. He has been blogging about indie authors since 2010 while learning new tech skills at the drop of a hat. He fixes author sites, and shares what he learns on The Digital Reader's blog. In his spare time, he fosters dogs for A Forever Home, a local rescue group.

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12 Comments

Fbone3 July, 2015

Their website tells visitors to contact them for more info regarding the lawsuit.

Do you know anybody at a small press who might be willing to squeal? 😉

My first thought would be they are upset by the exclusivity requirement of KU. Lots of indies and small presses seem to think they should be entitled to all the perks Amazon can offer just by asking, with no reciprocal commitment.

The guy behind the lawsuit is Robert Stanek. He’s a terrible self-published author and a fraud. It was discovered that he had posted hundreds of false reviews on Amazon promoting his books, while also bashing his competition. Amazon has deleted many of the reviews as a result. Stanek has also lied about winning awards (of which he has none) and being placed on various best seller lists (also false). This isn’t the first he has threatened bogus lawsuits. Many book critics and casual reviewers have received angry emails from Stanek posing as his own lawyer. Other reviewers have reported receiving threats of violence from Stanek using fake accounts. Unfortunately there is no wikipedia page for Stanek since he abused their site too often with fake entries. However if you google his name and the word “fraud” you’ll find tons of information on the guy.